European Markets Fall 2%; SAP,TUI Drop

Mayank Mehta
28 Oct, 2009
New York City

Deutsche Bank agreed to pay 1 billion to acquire Germany

[R]7:00PM Frankfurt, Paris; 1:00 PM New York – Deutsche Bank agreed to pay 1 billion to acquire Germany’s largest private bank Sal. Oppenheim Group. ArcelorMittal quarterly sales fell 54%. SAP AG declined after it estimated lower annual sale. TUI AG falls on €250 million bond offering plan.[/R]

European markets declined sharply after banks and steelmakers dropped for the second day in a row. EU conditions for ING NV and permission to UK to create a bad bank to separate risky loans affected the trading sentiment.

In London FTSE 100 Index closed lower 106.68 or 2.05% to 5,094.29, in Paris CAC 40 Index decreased 73.60 or 1.97% to close at 3,670.35, in Frankfurt DAX index lower 112.53 or 2.00% to close at 5,522.49. In Zurich trading SMI decreased 81.56 or 1.28% to close at 6,286.41.

Gainers & Losers

ArcelorMittal decreased 1.7% to €24.07 after the global steel producer reported third quarter sales fell 54% to $16.17 billion from $35.20 billion a year ago. Net profit in the quarter fell 76% to $903 million or $0.60 per diluted share compared to net profit of $3.82 billion or $2.78 per share a year ago.

BayWa AG fell 4.2% to €22.25 after the producer of agricultural products and building material said that under a purchase contract dated October 27, 2009, Sunways AG sold all its shares in MHH Solartechnik GmbH to BayWa Green Energy GmbH, a subsidiary of the company effective as of December 2009.

Coheris SA the software maker fell 4.3% to €2.87.

Credit Agricole SA slipped 4.2% to €13.07 after the bank was downgraded to “hold” from “buy” at Citigroup Inc.

Deutsche Bank AG fell 2.3% to €49.38 as banks in the region traded lower. The bank also agreed to acquire Sal. Oppenheim Group for €1 billion, the largest independent private bank in Germany.

The second acquisition will lower the bank’s reliance on investment banking fees and is the second purchase this month after it agreed to acquire commercial banking operations in the Netherland of ABN Amro Holding.

Eramet SA decreased 3.5% to €232.85 after the operator of the ferronickel plant said third quarter sales fell 40% to €637 million.

Eramet SA, an integrated mining and metallurgical company said third quarter 2009 group turnover fell 40% to €637 million from €1.06 billion a year ago. The Manganese division’s third quarter turnover fell 50% to €324 million from €653 million a year ago. The Nickel division’s third quarter turnover fell 7% to €155 million from €166 million a year ago. The Alloys division’s third quarter turnover fell 36% to €157 million from €245 million a year ago.

ElringKlinger AG fell 0.5% to €13.51 after the automotive supplier acquired a majority stake in Turkish company.

Groupe Eurotunnel SA increased 4.5% to €7.05 after the operator of the undersea rail link between England and France was upgraded to “buy” from “add” at Natixis.

Lisi SA the manufacturer of assembly components and packaging declined 3.9% to €34.10.

MorphoSys AG fell 2.8% to €17.65 after the biotechnology company said first nine months revenue increased 8% to €57.6 million from €53.3 million a year ago.

Natixis SA fell 6.0% to €3.82 after the bank was downgraded to “sell” from “buy” at Citigroup.

Salzgitter AG fell 2.9% to €61.82 after the steel technology industry chief executive Wolfgang Leese on Tuesday cautioned against premature optimism in the steel sector, warning that markets were fragile and that a recovery in demand is unlikely to be sustained. Separately, ArcelorMittal and U.S. Steel reported lower than expected earnings.

SAP AG fell 7.4% to €31.83 after the maker of business management software said that it continues to expect its full year 2009 non-GAAP operating margin, which excludes a non-recurring deferred support revenue write-down from the acquisition of Business Objects SA. The company also warned that annual revenues are likely to be lower than expected between 6% and 9%. Third quarter profits increased 12% to €435 million.

ThyssenKrupp AG the steelmaker fell 3.2% to €22.66.

TUI AG 8% to €5.02 dropped after it proposed to sell 250 million of convertible bonds in rights offering.

Vossloh AG fell 6.2% to €66.02 after the transport technology supplier reported third quarter sales fell 19% to €252.4 million from €312.2 million a year ago. Net profit in the quarter fell 78.8% to €14.6 million or €1.09 per diluted share compared to net profit of €69.0 million or €4.66 per share a year ago.

DAX Index Movers

Commerzbank AG led the decliners in the DAX index of 7.51% followed by losses in SAP AG of 7.27%, in Deutsche Boerse AG of 5.94%, in ThyssenKrupp AG of 5.80%, in Diamler AG of 4.52%.

Deutsche Telekom AG led gainers in the DAX index with a rise of 1.95% followed by increase in RWE AG of 0.97%, in Volkswagen AG of 0.75%, in Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA of 0.31%, in E.ON AG of 0.07%.

CAC-40 Index Movers

Renault SA led the decliners in the CAC-40 index of 7.19% followed by losses in Dexia SA of 6.34% in Michelin SCA of 6.29%, in Alcatel Lucent of 6.06%, PPR SA of 6.00%.

France Telecom S.A. gainers in the CAC-40 index with a rise of 1.27% followed by gainers in Sanofi-Aventis of 0.90%, Carrefour SA of 0.03%.

FTSE 100 Index Movers

Of the stocks in the FTSE 100 index, 12 increased, 89 declined and 1 were unchanged.

Man Group Plc decliners in the FTSE 100 index with a loss of 8.42% followed by losses in Xstrata Plc of 7.76%, in Prudential Public Limited Company of 7.26%, in Lonmin Plc of 7.15%, in Kazakhmys Plc of 7.03%.

Friends Provident Plc led gainers in the FTSE 100 index with a rise of 3.29% followed by increase in Tesco Plc of 1.78%, in Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc of 1.24%, in Diageo Plc of 1.20%, in Inmarsat Plc of 0.97%.